Monday, April 25, 2016

Droggins

They're also called goblin dragons, or shambledrakes. But they are not drakes (who are mere beasts), they are dragons, and are capable of all that excellent dragon behavior: scheming, hoarding, demanding tribute, learning to cast spells, etc.

They're similar to dragons, except they are emaciated and lack much muscle. Their scales flake off as they reach adulthood (as every droggin is affected with a form of scabies) leaving them with no covering except inflamed, flaky pink skin. Their wings are undersized

i have no scales no mo

DrogginHD 12 AC leather Attacks 1d6/1d6/1d12Move 18 Int 12 Mor 5

*Flight, Barely - Once every two rounds, a droggin can fly with a speed of 24. It must end its movement on solid ground.

*Phlegm Breath - Similar to a dragon's normal breath attack. Those caught in the area take 1d4 damage (save negates) and are immobilized similar to web. Usable every 1d4 turns.

*Dander - Droggin lairs are filled with dead skin flakes that have sloughed off. Anyone making a Stealth check must also make a Con check; failure means they sneeze at the worst moment. Each character has an independent 1-in-6 chance of being allergic to droggin dander, and after 10 minutes of exposure to it, they get -2 to attack and AC. Once this fact is established about a character, write it down.

*Madness - 67% of droggins possess a madness (in addition to their usually tics and compulsions).

*Weakness - Droggins are prone to birth defects and illnesses. Roll on the table below.

What Is This Droggin's Weakness? [d4]

Cataracts. -4 to hit, except for enemies who were already adjacent at the start of the droggin's turn.

Seizures. Will have a seizure for 1d3 rounds at the start of combat. Makes no action except to thrash around and moan

Extreme cowardice. Only has a 20% chance to save vs fear, and seeing a large fire (bonfire or bigger) provokes an immediate save vs fear. Always flees as soon as combat turns against them, and never initiates combat unless they have a clear advantage. Would rather let you steal their hoard than confront you (while they complain, whine, and beg from a hidden refuge in the ceiling), and then follow you until you are vulnerable.

Second head. This smaller, deformed head lacks most of its brain. It apes the main head, but takes no action on its own. The dead weight gives this droggin -4 to hit with its bite attacks.

Hemophilia. Every damaging attack causes it to bleed for 1 point per turn until it can spend a turn licking its wounds, which it will usually do after retreating.

Pneumonia. All droggins suffer from some degree of pneumonia, but with this is an especially severe case. Whenever they use their breath weapon, they spend the next round gagging and coughing up more phlegm, and can only make a single claw attack that turn (and no bite attack). On the upside, everyone hit by their phlegm must now save vs disease (1d4 Con per day).

the only thing grosser than ticks on youis ticks on a snake

What Does This Droggin Hoard? [d4]

People. It imprisons them in deep holes and forces them to wear costumes and act out certain roles with it (such as pretending to be human nobility at a party).

Animal hoarding, probably cats. Most droggins are lonely creatures. There's probably at least one catbook, recognizable by the collar that refers to it as such.

Handmade dolls, which it refers to as its "friends". "Friend" humans are made from the clothing of devoured humans (sometimes with the original heads, before they rot away) and "friend" droggins are made from logs, mud, and stone. Those exploring its lair will probably encounter the "friends" long before the droggin itself.

Or honestly just use all of these and your droggin's lair is basically written already.

Droggins will still have useful treasure in their shitty hoard, but that amulet of ant control might be around the neck of a doll, and that shield of shout amplification might be currently retrofitted as a litterbox for cats.

The party will need to take time to sort through all the garbage in a droggin's lair, but the treasure is there. The filthy, dander-covered treasure.

your players are going to be so pissed when they find outthat the hoard is cats

How to Use Droggins In Your Game

Stick them anywhere you would stick a dragon, especially a weak dragon.

How many times have you seen a low-level adventure where a tribe of goblins is ruled by a young dragon? Use a droggin there instead. Droggins pair better with goblins anyway, since the players are less likely to be flabbergasted with they find skin flakes in the hallways.

And just because they're basically handicapped dragons doesn't mean that they can't be deadly foes in their own right. Make them a mastermind behind a plot. Replace Rohan's Wormtongue with an actual wyrmtongue droggin. Give them wizard levels.

Or hell, just make them some pathetic thing that the PCs can rescue out in the forest. Now the PC's have a dragon friend. Or at least, a clingy, diseased, neurotic dragon that needs to take walking breaks every 30 minutes, on account of his asthma.